I've written before that the average wage for a freelance writer in Britain is less than the pay of a supermarket worker. The reality in 2009 is a good deal bleaker. Average earnings for writers have dropped from £7,000 to £4,000, less than 25% of the national average. All the more reason to celebrate 30 years of public lending right (PLR), which rewards authors of out-of-print titles whose books are in libraries. No surprise to find Jacqueline Wilson is one of the most borrowed authors, but intriguing to note that she keeps company with Nora Roberts, Daisy Meadows and Mary Lawson, who are not exactly household names. Another popular PLR author, apparently, is a certain Home Office, author of that entrancing spellbinder Life in the United Kingdom.